Ukraine’s President to Address Major Security Conference Amid Ongoing Russian Invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to speak at the Munich Security Conference, where the ongoing conflict with Russia is expected to dominate discussions. The three-day event, which will be attended by almost 100 countries, including the United States, Europe, and China, will be held in Germany and feature about 40 heads of state and government, politicians, and security experts. Notably, Russian officials were not invited to the conference, as Western countries have sought to isolate Russia diplomatically over its invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24, 2022.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has stated that Russia’s war in Ukraine will overshadow the proceedings, as the conflict enters its second year next week. The war’s implications are not limited to Europe, as economies around the world have been impacted by the war’s effect on grain supplies, energy prices, and inflation. At the conference, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will join the leaders of France, Germany, and the U.K. to discuss the ongoing crisis.
In a speech scheduled for Saturday, Vice President Harris will lay out what’s at stake in the war and why it matters, to bolster the case for maintaining U.S. support for Ukraine. Kyiv is depending on Western weapons to thwart Putin’s ambition of securing control of large areas of the country, in what has become a test of governments’ resolve amid increasing financial costs. Frans Timmermans, the executive vice president of the European Union’s executive commission, emphasized the importance of European unity in supporting Ukraine, as the conflict enters a critical phase.
Zelenskyy portrays Ukraine as defending Western values of freedom and democracy against tyranny and argues that his country needs to be properly provisioned to fend off Russia’s much bigger force. The conflict is not just a European issue, as it has far-reaching implications for global economies. The ongoing crisis will likely continue to be a focal point of discussions in international security policy for the foreseeable future.